Comic Book Club
by Siancore
Summary: Richonne AU based on a prompt from tfry1440 on Tumblr for Rick getting jealous over something really silly. No zombies; except for maybe in the comic books Michonne reads. Just some fluffy fun!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: AU prompt from **tfry1440** on Tumblr for Rick getting jealous over something really silly. No zombies; except for maybe in the comic books Michonne reads. Just some fluffy fun!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead.

* * *

Michonne let out an annoyed screech and then punched her pillow, causing Rick to wake from his light slumber.

"What's wrong?" he asked with half-opened eyes while sitting up in bed and glancing over at his girlfriend of six months.

"Sorry," Michonne offered as she rubbed his bare back gently. "Nothing's wrong. I was just reading my books and it ended on a cliff hanger and now I have to wait for the next issue. But don't worry, baby. Go back to sleep."

She threw him a small, apologetic smile before continuing to gently rub a moment longer. She placed the comic book down on the night stand and switched off the lights. Rick glanced at the alarm clock's glowing face and sighed before sliding back down in the bed.

"It's almost one-thirty," he sighed. "I'm sure you love those comics more than you love me."

"They're comic _books_ , Rick; comics are what you find in the newspaper. And don't be silly; you know I love you both the same," she joked as she nestled closer to him and draped her arm over his waist.

Rick grunted in response.

xXx

"Michonne?" Rick called out from her adjoining bathroom.

"Yeah?" she answered from inside of her bedroom.

"Did you wanna go out somewhere and grab dinner?" he asked, hopeful that she would.

"Ah, can I give it a raincheck?" she asked.

Rick sighed and walked into the bedroom where he found Michonne sitting on her bed with a box of comic books to her left, plastic comic book bags to her right and a number of brightly colored issues spread out over her dark comforter.

"What're you doin'?" he asked as he took in the sight before him.

"Oh, I'm bagging my books," she answered naturally as if he was familiar with that activity.

"Is it gonna take long?" Rick queried, glancing down at his watch.

"Maybe we should order-in…"

"Really? It's gonna take that long?" he asked.

Michonne shrugged.

"I have to catalogue them as well," she explained.

"Catalogue them?" he asked.

"Yes. I need to keep a record so I know if there are any gaps in my collection," Michonne replied.

Rick let out a deep sigh.

"What?" she asked, taking note of his seemingly sour mood. "You know this is my pleasure."

 _What about our pleasure?_ He thought, feeling let down.

xXx

The muffled sounds from the car radio hummed quietly in the background as Rick and Michonne were making their way home; he had picked her up from work and both were eager to retire to Rick's place for some much needed time alone. Rick tapped his right hand on the steering wheel and smiled to himself. He could not believe how lucky he had been to have her in his life and he was thankful for her every day since they had me. Michonne was the supportive, loyal and downright amazing girlfriend that Rick never knew he needed. Their time spent together was something he cherished, since they both had very busy work schedules.

Michonne glanced over at Rick and went to speak until she had received a text message.

"Yes," she said under breath before turning to Rick.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his eyes on the road but feeling wholly distracted by her wide, beautiful smile.

"Can we make a quick stop at Mom's Basement?" she asked, looking happy.

"Where?" Rick asked, looking completely confused.

"The comic book shop, Mom's Basement," she offered seriously.

Rick burst into laughter.

"What?" Michonne asked.

"Your favorite comic book store is called 'Mom's Basement'?" he said, wiping a laugh-induced tear from his eye.

"Yeah. Why, what's wrong with that? Would you prefer 'The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop'," she asked with a smile that soon faded when Rick did not get the reference.

"Darlin', you know I don't even know what that means," Rick said, hoping he was not offending Michonne.

He knew very well that Michonne the fierce, talented, intelligent and successful attorney whom he was in love with, had a passion for pop culture and comic books and was always so excited when a new issue of her favourite books arrived. He did not want to sound like he was devaluing something that was important to her, even though he thought the name of a shop evoked images of geeky teenage boys in the basement of their mother's homes; maybe that was the point, he mused.

Michonne rolled her eyes.

 _We only just watched an episode of The Simpsons the other night with Comic Book Guy in it,_ she thought.

"Never mind, let's just get to the Basement," she said as she looked down at her phone and replied to the text message with a smile.

…..

As Rick's car came to a halt, she grabbed her purse and began to exit the vehicle; to her surprise, Rick opened his door and stepped out.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"I'm goin' with you. Might as well check it out since you love it so much, and I love you so much," he offered beaming at her.

Michonne could not stay annoyed at him for long with his charming ways and nice smile; she grinned back at him, walked around and took him by the hand while they entered the store.

"My birthday's comin' up so you should have a look around," Michonne said as she placed a kiss to Rick's hand and then let go of it so he could explore the shop a little.

He offered her a sweet smile and wandered off to a section of the store that had numerous brightly colored books on display. Rick picked up a number of issues and flicked through, not even sure what he was looking for. He walked along the shelves and read titles, seeing if anything looked familiar or if he could remember Michonne talking about one of them. He recognized Superman and Spider-Man but also found that there seemed to be a multitude of heroes that were not men at all.

Rick picked up a trade paperback and flicked through the pages; the artwork was impressive and very different to what he remembered as a child. Even the language had changed and Rick felt strange about seeing swear words inside of the issue.

 _I guess heroes cuss too,_ he mused.

All of a sudden, Rick was draw from his thoughts by the familiar sound of Michonne's sweet laughter. He loved the way she laughed; her giggles sounding like music to his ears. He just needed to turn around and watch how her face would light up when she chortled and he would be content. Rick's gaze found her but also fell on the helpful sales assistant who, much to Rick's chagrin was a really good looking man of around thirty-five who seemingly loved all of the things that Michonne loved. This man was standing next to her on the opposite side of the counter, making her laugh and leaning in way too close for Rick's liking.

Without taking his eyes off of the pair, Rick placed the book back on the shelf and headed in their direction. He stood just in front of them with his hands on his hips, waiting for them to finish their conversation. Michonne looked at him first and then the man followed with his gaze soon thereafter. She stepped forward and looped her arm in Rick's before introducing them.

"Tony, this is my boyfriend Rick. Rick, this is my dealer Tony," she said with a smile.

Tony laughed and extended his hand to Rick.

"Hey, Rick. Don't arrest me, I only deal comic books and fine collectables," Tony joked, causing Michonne to chuckle.

Rick, however, only offered a small smile as he took Tony's hand and shook it.

 _He ain't that funny_ , he thought.

"Keep everything above board, and I won't have to," Rick replied with a wry smirk.

Tony made his way back behind the counter and squatted down to retrieve a parcel. He placed it down near the cash register and removed the pink sticky note with Michonne's name written on it.

"I packaged 'em but didn't have time to ring it all up for you," he offered apologetically.

Michonne let go of Rick and stepped forward.

"That's okay. We have time, right babe?" she asked of Rick.

He wanted to say that they did not, but nodded in agreement.

Rick listened as Michonne and Tony spoke excitedly about the new adventures their favorites were having and how they were enjoying them so. Rick felt like a third wheel as he had nothing to contribute to the conversation. He rifled through a few items on the counter and then squinted and looked around at various t-shirts and figurines adorning the walls and shelves. His attention was brought back to Michonne and Tony as she laughed particularly loudly and proceeded to give the man a playful shove; he responded by covering his heart with his hand as they both continued to laugh.

Rick cleared his throat and pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Almost done there?" he asked, annoyed by their familiarity while checking the time.

Michonne turned to look at him with a smile.

"Almost," she replied as Tony let her know how much she owed.

"How long do y'all stay open?" Rick asked as it was almost eight-thirty.

"Usually eight o'clock, but I know Mich likes to have her books right away so I stayed back a bit," Tony said with a smile.

 _Mich?_ Thought Rick as he tried really hard not to roll his eyes.

"That's awful nice o' you," Rick offered as he stepped forward and held his hands out towards the stack of comic books Michonne was holding. "Here, _Mich_ ; let me get those for ya."

She handed them over and gave Rick a strange look; he was acting rather oddly and never, ever shortened her name.

"Thanks," she said as she placed her change in her purse.

"So I'll see you on Sunday then?" Tony asked of Michonne.

She nodded and Rick tilted his head to the side.

"Oh yeah, wouldn't miss it. Did I need to bring anything or…?"

"No, no. It's fine. I have your number so I'll text you anyways," Tony said beaming.

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Awesome. Thanks again for this and I'll see you on Sunday," said Michonne as she took hold of Rick's hand once more.

"Sweet. See you then. Nice to meet you, Rick," said Tony.

"Yeah," Rick nodded. "You too."

Once they were back in the car, Michonne could not wait as she opened up the package; she retrieved a dark covered trade paperback, flicked quickly through it and then turned to the back cover to read it.

"This is so awesome. Tony's been telling me to get it for months now," she exclaimed.

Rick put the key in the ignition but did not start the car.

"Where are y'all goin' on Sunday?" he asked flatly.

"Uh?" said Michonne, engrossed in her new gem.

"On Sunday, you and _Tony_ ; where are y'all goin'? Sounds like a date or somethin'," he said, looking sideways at her.

Michonne scrunched her face up and then glanced at Rick.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

Rick shrugged.

"What's the plan for Sunday, _Mich_?" he asked sardonically.

She rolled her eyes.

"Don't do that," she said. "And it's nothing you'd be interested in anyways."

Rick sighed. He could feel a disagreement coming on.

"Try me," he said.

"It's just our monthly comic book club; you wouldn't like it. It's just a bunch of us fangirling over our faves. Just a bunch of geeks who should spend their time and money on better things. You'd hate it. No big deal. Come on, let's get going," she said almost sadly as she put her book back into the paper bag.

Rick took note of how crestfallen Michonne seemed now. He started the car up and they went on their way. The drive back to his place was almost silent save for the radio playing songs Rick was not familiar with. When they arrived, he glanced over at his love; she gathered up her work bag and the items she had purchased from Mom's Basement. Before she got out of the car, Rick touched her arm gently.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just tired," she offered.

Rick did not believe her.

"Can anyone go to comic book club?" asked Rick.

Michonne nodded.

"Yes. We allow all comers. Why?"

"I'm gonna go with you," he smiled softly.

"Rick, you don't have to…"

"No, I want to. It's somethin' you enjoy, so I might as well support you," he said.

Michonne gifted him with a wide smile.

"Thank you," she said excitedly. "It's gonna be so much fun."

Rick leaned in and kissed her lips.

* * *

A/N: I hope my fellow comic book geeks enjoyed this especially.

More to come!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the feedback everyone! A huge thank to the following for their reviews: Colt and Katana; Guestz; CodeName-M.e; SBK; zeejack; RichonneSlag; simple1234; literaturechick; blacklitchick; crypticnotions; sleepywitchysamurai; and TheAmazingCharlieG. I appreciate all of the follows and silent readership!

* * *

Rick and Michonne are both overcome with the familiar feeling of their climax in the early sunlight of the lazy Saturday morning. Soon after catching their breath and entwining their lightly sweat-covered limbs, they lay in bed with no intention of moving. Rick admires her features as she comes down from her pleasure-induced high.

"We should stay in bed all day," he said huskily; his southern drawl more pronounced than usual.

Michonne rolled over so that her head was then rested on his chest.

"I wish," she offered as she ran her hand up and down his bare torso. "But I've gotta go into the office after lunch."

Rick groaned and mumbled and complained as Michonne giggled.

"What am I supposed to do with myself while you're at work?" he asked, only half annoyed.

"Well, you can get some reading done," Michonne offered.

Rick scrunched his face up, even though she did not see him.

"Nah," he replied.

"I'm sure you have some reading to catch up on, don't you?" Michonne asked as she leaned on her elbow and faced Rick.

He looked thoughtful a moment, and then shook his head.

"Rick, you have to read the first issue of _Wytches_ if you want to come to Comic Book Club tomorrow," she said as she slapped him playfully.

"Shit. I almost forgot," he replied honestly.

"Rick…"

"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you in front of Tony and your other friends," he said in a slightly more snarky manner than he had meant to.

Michonne kissed his forehead.

"Good," she offered. "And I'd never be embarrassed of you, even if you are a huge noob."

"What's a 'noob'?" Rick asked, causing Michonne to chuckle.

"You are, all o' this," she said while gesturing to Rick.

"You love all o' this!" he countered as he grabbed Michonne and pulled her body close to his.

She giggled once more and pressed a languid kiss to Rick's lips.

"Yes I do," was her reply.

The couple unhurriedly explored each other once more; Michonne rolled to her back and drew Rick on top of her. Out of nowhere, her phone signalled she had received a message. In between fervent kisses, she spoke.

"Rick…I should…probably check…that."

Rick's mouth shifted to her neck.

"Oh, God," she breathed. "Just like that."

"You were sayin'?" Rick teased before pressing his mouth back to the spot that made Michonne come undone.

"I should check that message. _Right there, Rick. Oh, yes._ It could be work. We might get to stay in bed all day," she said sounding both hopeful and aroused.

That encouraged Rick to shift his body so that Michonne could check her phone. She reached over to the nightstand and picked up the cell. She frowned and placed it back down.

"Not work. Was only Tony," she said while trying to pull Rick back to her.

"Tony? What'd he want?" Rick said, not budging.

"He just asked if I could bring the sodas tomorrow, now come here and do that thing with your mouth again," she said teasingly.

Rick stayed where he was.

"Why does he even have your number?" he asked, sitting up in bed.

"I don't wanna talk about him right now," she said while running her fingers up Rick's back.

"Why does he have your number? I shop at Johnson's hardware and old Mr Johnson ain't got my number," said Rick causing Michonne to sit up.

"He's a friend."

"He's the clerk who sells you your little books, Michonne. He doesn't need to be textin' you," Rick said, realizing right away that he said something to offend her.

"Tony _owns_ the Basement, and they're not just some silly little books, Rick," Michonne chided as she began to search for her clothing.

She put on Rick's t-shirt and crossed her arms.

"I didn't say that they were silly," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"But that's what you think. It doesn't matter. Tony's my friend. He's had my number for ages. Don't tell me you're jealous, Rick?"

The room went silent.

"I get it. I probably wouldn't want some random chick texting you either, but you have _nothing_ to worry about. Tony and I are just friends, okay? You don't want to talk about my silly little hobbies all day, so it's good that I have friends that like the same things as I do. Tony's one of those friends. He gets me…"

"I get you," said Rick, feeling offended himself.

"Of course you do," she said with a smile. "But we have different interests, and that's okay."

"Yeah but I'm sure your buddy Tony is more interested in you than he is in comics," Rick countered.

"So you are jealous?" Michonne asked, half-smiling.

Rick rolled his eyes.

"Just admit it, he's into you," said Rick.

Michonne shook her head.

"No, he isn't," she replied.

"You're too into your comics to notice that he's into you, but he is," Rick said.

Michonne sighed and then clambered onto Rick's lap; she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his mouth.

"Yeah well, I'm only into you," she said as she drew Rick's t-shirt back over her head.

xXx

Rick sat out on the front porch of his house and placed his cup of coffee down on the step; he held the book that Michonne had left for him, turned it over in his hand and then placed it down. He was going to need some help, he mused. Reaching into his jeans pocket, he retrieved his phone and found the number he was looking for. It rang a couple of times before a voice at the other end answered.

"Hey, Dad. What's up?" said Carl in greeting.

"Hey there, buddy. Not much. How's it goin'? How's Judy and Mom?" Rick asked.

"I'm fine. Mom's good. Judy misses you. Will you be picking us up next weekend?" Carl asked with hope.

"Sure will. I put the new shelves up in your room so we can go and get that entertainment system for you right away," Rick said with a smile.

"Awesome! Thanks, Dad. I can't wait," the boy said excitedly. "How's Michonne?"

"She's doin' good. Which reminds me, I need some advice from you," Rick said feeling a little sheepish.

Carl chuckled.

"You need advice on women from me?" he asked dubiously.

"Very funny," replied Rick. "I need comic book advice from you."

Carl let out another chuckle.

"That I can do," he said. "What did you need to know and why?"

"Well, you know how Michonne loves comics?"

"Comic _books,_ Dad," he interjected.

"Yeah, right. Well, I sort o' volunteered to go to her book club on Sunday," said Rick.

"Really? That's so cool. I've always wanted to go with her but I'm never there when they have it. She was gonna ask Tony if he could swap it one weekend so I could go too. Tony's pretty cool, so he most likely will," said Carl excitedly.

"Yeah, Tony's a good guy," Rick said sarcastically.

"He's the best. He always lets me take a couple of things out of the one dollar bin. He's awesome," said Carl.

"Right. Got it. Tony's great, but I need some pointers right now," Rick said.

"Sure. Sorry. I just _love_ going to the Basement. But anyways. What did you need help with, Dad?" asked Carl.

"I don't know. Michonne left me this book to read by tomorrow, and it looks pretty thick. Not like a comic book. Do I have to read it all?" Rick asked.

"Which book is it?" he asked.

" _Wytches_ , he said. "But it's spelled funny."

"Oh that one is so fricken cool, Dad!" Carl said excitedly.

"Right. So do I read the whole thing or…"

"No, Dad. It's a trade paperback. You only need to read the first chapter as it'll be the first issue," Carl said.

"Okay, sounds simple enough. So, when I get to the book club, what do I talk about?" Rick asked.

"Well, you usually start by talking about the cover artwork and then the artwork in general; then talk about the story. What you liked about it; what stood out to you; what you want to see in the next issue. It's nothing too scary, Dad. You're a cop. You got this," Carl offered with a smile.

Rick chortled.

"I know. I just don't want to embarrass Michonne. She loves this stuff and I want to see what the fuss is about," Rick explained.

"That's good boyfriend material right there, Dad," Carl laughed. "But hey! How come you never took an interest in this stuff for me?"

Rick thought for a moment, caught out by his son.

"Well, Carl," Rick said. "You can thank Tony from the Basement for that. He really encouraged me to take an interest."

* * *

A/N: I was almost gonna write next _issue_ lol in the next _instalment_ , Rick goes to Comic Book Club!

 _Wytches_ is by Scott Snyder for Image Comics – check it out if you love horror! It's awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi all! This is the last instalment of this story; thanks so much to those who have read, followed, fave'd and left reviews. I appreciate your support! This is fluffy; of so fluffy and I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for the reviews: Sharei27; Guest; blacklitchick; HeartoSteel; CodeName-M.e; Guestz; literaturechick; and Colt And Katana!

Here goes…

* * *

There was a stiffness in Rick's neck when he awoke on his small couch, the trade paperback _Wytches_ resting on his chest. He had fallen asleep while doing his required reading to join Michonne at her comic book club that was meeting the following day. His first impression of the book he had fallen asleep reading was that it was nothing like the Archie comics he read as a child. The artwork looked like something that should be hanging in a gallery. He thought the themes were very mature as well as the language; Rick suddenly questioned whether or not he should be worried about Carl reading that particular book. He figured he would ask Michonne.

…..

Rick, being an upstanding police officer, did not usually feel intimidated easily; he was always one to face any difficulty head-on. However, he felt less adequate to deal with his current situation as he and Michonne made their way into one of the back rooms at Mom's Basement Comic Book Shop. He did not want to make a huge fool out of himself and then embarrass Michonne; he just wanted to show her that he could take an interest in some of the things that she loved.

Michonne led the way as Rick followed behind with the bottles of soda that Tony asked that she bring. She led him over to what looked like a refreshments table covered with sandwiches, chips, dip and other finger foods as well as plastic plates and cups. Rick set the drinks down and a friendly girl named Mindy thanked him.

"You're new," she said with a warm grin as she introduced herself.

"I'm Rick," he said amicably. "And it's my first time at one of these functions."

"Ooh!" said Mindy enthusiastically. "That's so exciting! Did you just recently move here or just stumbled on _and_ decided to become involved in our little club?"

Rick chuckled a little.

"Nah, none of that," he smiled. "My girlfriend, Michonne, she told me about it so I thought I'd come along. I'm not really into comic but she loves 'em so I thought I may as well see what the fuss is about."

"Michonne's awesome and that's so nice of you to do that for her," said Mindy as she glanced over at Michonne who was now setting up another table.

"Well," said Rick as he leaned his weight onto his left leg. "It ain't no secret, but I'd do anything for her."

…..

Tony brought a box over to where Michonne was that contained a bundle of comic books that were to be left on the swap table. He spread them out and offered Michonne a wide grin.

"Got some good stuff to swap this month," he said cheerfully. "Hope you brought something with me in mind."

"You know, I completely forgot," said Michonne. "I was so caught up with making sure Rick read _Wytches_ that I forgot to bring something to trade."

"Why does Rick need to read _Wytches_?" asked Tony, a little surprised that her cowboy boyfriend would be interested in the same things that she and he were.

"He's here today," she said, gesturing to where Rick stood talking to Mindy.

"Oh, I didn't realize he was coming," Tony said. "That's cool. It's good to have more people here."

Michonne nodded and thought he did not sound convinced of his own words.

…..

"So, let's get started already. Thanks to those who brought the refreshments; Michonne, Mindy and Anwar. Also I'd like to say hello and welcome to who we hope will be new members, Casey and Rick," Tony said while everyone sat in a semi-circle on the various pieces of mismatched furniture.

Rick nodded to the group and smiled, still feeling a little self-conscious.

"Now we've got some things to get through and we'll start talking about this month's book. Mindy will be collecting donations for the school book drive this month; if you have any age appropriate books at home that you want to donate, let her know to arrange a pick up; alternatively, you can purchase some books from us and have them sent to the schools. Either way, we appreciate your continued support with this idea and let's give Michonne another round of applause for coming up with it," Tony offered with a bright smile.

Rick took Michonne's hand and squeezed it; he knew she was involved in a few charities, but did not know about this one. She looked at Rick and smiled lovingly; she could see the adoration in his eyes. Tony watched the happy couple and felt like he was intruding on a very private moment, though they were in a room full of people. He cleared his throat and continued with his announcements.

…..

"Did everyone bring their copy of the first issue?" Tony asked as he glanced around the room.

People looked inside their rucksacks, purses and backpacks to retrieve their respective copies. Michonne handed her trade to Rick.

"So, let's get started. The title this month is _Witches_ by Scott Snyder, as you all know; in the first issue we're introduced to the Rook family and there's some scary stuff going on as this book is in the horror genre. I wanted to get some first impressions of it; Rick, did you want to say anything to start us off?" said Tony.

Rick sat up straighter and looked at Michonne's friend; he felt as if Tony was putting him on the spot. He looked down and turned the book over in his hands and then glanced back up at Tony; being a straight shooter, Rick answered honestly.

"I thought it was pretty different to anything I'm used to," said Rick.

"Genre or medium-wise?" asked Tony.

"Both," said Rick. "I ain't really into horror and the last comic, comic _book_ I read was _Archie_ – I like your t-shirt, by the way," Rick said to Mindy who was wearing Archie's smiling face on a white tee.

"Thanks," she said brightly. "I found it at a yard sale."

Rick nodded as Tony waited patiently.

"Sorry for gettin' off track," said Rick.

"It's okay," replied Tony. "You were saying?"

"Right, I was sayin' it's not really somethin' I'd choose to read for myself," Rick answered in earnest. "I was surprised how much comic books have changed since I was a kid; how much the audience has changed."

"Yeah I think we've pretty much established that," said someone rather rudely.

"That may be so, but this is the first time I've looked at one in years," said Rick.

"Please," said Tony. "Let Rick finish."

"Like I said, I was surprised by how things have changed; that's the first thing I noticed. Secondly, this story is a little crazy," Rick offered.

"Crazy? How so?" asked Tony.

"It's a little out there with some of the themes," said Rick.

"What about compared to Snyder's previous work?"

"Well I'm not really familiar with Mr Snyder's back catalogue. You see, as my beautiful girlfriend pointed out, I'm what y'all would call a _noob_ ," said Rick, eliciting a chuckle from the others in the group.

Tony smiled and nodded.

"Fair enough," he said. "I'll put the same question to the group. Would anyone else like to weigh in?"

…..

Rick listened to the group members as they spoke about the book of the month and other things; he would glance at Michonne every so often to see her fully engaged in the conversations. Now that he had effectively been kept out of the conversation through his own ignorance of the topics being discussed, the meeting seemed to be dragging along painfully slow.

They took a break from the discussion and had the chance to partake in refreshments; this afforded the members to chat to one another. Rick stood next to Michonne as she chatted away to Mindy about something he was not familiar with; he looked around the room and then sighed when he noticed that Tony was headed his way. Tony smiled and stopped in front of Rick.

"How're you liking it so far?" he asked of Rick.

Rick quickly chewed what he had bitten from the sandwich so that he could answer.

"Yeah," he replied. "It's been good. I'm learnin' a lot."

Tony nodded.

"That's awesome, man," he said. "Always happy to have new members."

Rick offered a small grin knowing full well there was no way he was going to join the group. It just was not for him and he would have to let Michonne know when they returned to his place.

"If I have the time," Rick said.

"Sure. Of course; you're a busy man with work and your kids," said Tony before he gestured to what he was holding.

"What've you got there?" asked Rick as he sipped from the soda in his plastic cup.

"Well Michonne may have mentioned once or twice or every time she can that you have a teenage son, whom she adores, who is into comic books. I thought he might be interested in a couple of these, on the house," Tony said.

"Really?" asked Rick.

"Sure," he replied. "Michonne's a good friend of mine and a loyal customer of the Basement. She can't stop talking about how cool your kid is and how well they get on, so any friend of hers is a friend of mine. We've known each other for ages and she's been through a rough time, as you would know; I'm just glad that she's found happiness with you and your family. So please, give these to your son."

Rick took the pile of books and thanked Tony; surprised by the gesture, but willing to see him in a new light.

xXxXx

"So, it wasn't too bad, was it?" Michonne asked as she curled up next to Rick on his sofa; she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It was okay. I like your friends," he offered. "Mindy's really funny."

She smiled and rubbed her hand up his arm.

"It's okay if you didn't have a great time. I know it's not really your thing," Michonne offered.

"I know, but I wanted to at least try for you," said Rick as he kissed her forehead.

They fell into comfortable silence before she spoke again.

"You know, I'm really not mad at you when you don't understand what it is about comic books that I love. There're things that you're into that I don't like," said Michonne.

Rick looked at her with a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "And what might those things be?"

Michonne sat up and faced Rick; she wore a bright smile.

"Well, for starters, you love to go fishing. I can't stand it! I went with you that one time and it just wasn't fun for me. But that's what you like to do to unwind, so I'm glad that you get to do it," she offered.

Rick chuckled.

"I already knew that because you complained the whole time," he laughed.

"No, Officer; I complained after I slipped on the bank and fell on my ass," Michonne retorted.

"It wasn't a huge deal, it was only the two of us there," Rick said.

"Yeah, on our second date!" Michonne reminded him.

They both laughed before she continued.

"What I'm saying is it's okay to like different things because at the end of the day, we still love each other, right?" asked Michonne.

Rick cupped her face, nodded his head and then leaned in to kiss her mouth.

"Right," he answered. "I'll always love you at the start and end of every single day."

xXxXx

 _In the not too distant future…_

The scene before him was something that Rick had only dreamed of in his most private moments; Michonne being twirled around the dance floor by her father. Her elegant wedding gown swaying with her movements; her face bright and happy. Every so often, she would gaze in his direction and smile at her new husband. Rick would return the gesture as complete contentment washed over him.

The whole day had seemed surreal to him, after a year of being with Michonne, they had finally become husband and wife. They were finally at a place in their relationship where they could show their commitment to one another as well as to everyone in their lives. While there were some setbacks in their relationship throughout the time they were together, they had persevered and their love and loyalty shone through.

Almost out of breath, Michonne made her way over to where Rick sat atop the dais; he helped her up the steps and handed a glass of champagne to her as she sat next to him. Rick took hold of her hand and smiled.

"Everyone looks happy," he said, speaking over the music and looking out across the dance floor.

"Yeah, because of the free booze!" she laughed as she turned to kiss his cheek.

"And the cake; I'm pretty sure Carl's eaten half of it," Rick said as they both chuckled. "Oh, he did bring this over though."

Rick released Michonne's hand and grabbed the napkin that was bunched on the table. When he opened it, inside lay the wedding cake topper that Rick had arranged to be made for their special day. He passed it to his bride and she smiled as she held up the figures of superheroes Storm and Wolverine from the X-Men, Michonne's favourite comic book.

"I still can't get over the fact you had this made," Michonne said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's so awesome!"

"Well in amongst all of these flowers and silverware, there had to be somethin' to fit your personality. Somethin' you love," Rick offered as he gently stroked her back.

"There's already something I love here," Michonne said as she faced Rick.

"What's that? It's Tony's wedding present, isn't it? A year's subscription to…ugh, what was it…I can't think of it now… _Uncanny X-Men_? _Astonishing X-Men_?"

Michonne laughed.

"It's you; I love you," she said with a wide grin. "Even if you are a noob."

With that, they shared yet another kiss and watched on as their friends and family celebrated with them. They were happy in their skins, happy with who they were, and happy with how their life turned out. Michonne sipped from her glass and absently thought about showing off the wedding photos at Comic Book Club after they got back from their honeymoon; she smiled to herself. Rick looked at his wife with a smile of his own as he absently thought about the skimpy Storm costume he had bought for Michonne to wear later that night.

 _End._

* * *

A/N: I imagine they would have twin sons in the future named Jay Garrick Grimes after the original Flash and Zayne Carrick Grimes after my favourite Padawan/Jedi from _Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic_ LOL

Special shout out to fellow Richonne writer **CodeName-M.e** for the inspiration to have Storm and Wolverine wedding cake toppers because of her story _You're Invited._ I'm Ororo/Logan trash too.

Thanks again for reading! It's been fun!


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